Page 85 of Til Death Do Us Part (Kornilov Bratva Duet 2)

Molly

Idon’t know how long it has been since the phone call with Viktor. It feels like hours since I heard his voice through the speaker, wondering where I was and if I was okay. I could hear the fear in his voice. I could sense how much he loved me. But still, when Fedor revealed that Viktor had hired—or rather, nearly hired—men to break into my house and scare me, it made me doubt everything.

As soon as Fedor hung up, two of his men dragged me back to my cell, and I’ve been here ever since, trying to understand my own feelings.

I told myself before that feelings didn’t matter in here. They wouldn’t help me escape. But now, my feelings feel as inescapable as my cell. No matter how hard I try to push them away, they rise back to the surface, demanding to be felt and understood.

Betrayal.

That is the first and strongest emotion.

Viktor was willing to terrify me and invade my privacy and traumatize Theo to get me to marry him.

Whatever Viktor may think his motivation was, it wasn’t love. Love does not hurt like that. Love is not vindictive or scheming.

But he chose not to send the men in. He didn’t hire anyone to come and scare us—Fedor did. The fact that Fedor got the idea by listening in on Viktor’s conversation adds an entirely new and confusing layer to the situation.

I go around in circles, trying to be angry and disgusted with Viktor, but as hard as I try, I still want him here with me. Even while I’m internally screaming at him for being such a bastard, I long to feel his strong arms around me, telling me everything will be okay.

Plus, crazily enough, if I had taken the protection Viktor had offered me and allowed the guards to follow me last night, I probably wouldn’t be trapped in this cell right now. But I bypassed those security measures and took my safety into my own hands, and now look where I am.

I run my hands through my oily hair and wonder whether Theo is okay. Will Viktor have told him I was taken? I hope not. I don’t want Theo to worry.

Hopefully he is playing right now. Hopefully Viktor is telling him that I’ll be home soon.

It might be a lie, but Theo deserves to live in that lie for a little bit longer. He deserves to hear those words of comfort until Viktor is entirely certain they aren’t true.

I’m huddled against the back wall of the cell, my knees tucked to my chest, when the door suddenly bursts open.

I scream and jump to my feet. I didn’t even hear the key in the lock, so I’m taken off guard, but I come to my senses quickly.

Fedor is standing in the doorway, his green eyes vibrant and wild. My attention snags on the gun in his hand. He is pointing it at me, and I have no reason to believe he isn’t going to shoot me dead right now.

His head is tilted oddly to the side, and I realize he is on the phone. He grabs the phone wedged between his chin and shoulder and hits a button so the sound of a ringtone fills the room on speakerphone.

It rings over and over again. So long that I begin to wonder whether this is a new kind of torture I’m unfamiliar with. Given enough time, the sound would certainly drive anyone mad.

“Your fake husband must not have any real feelings for you, after all. He sure is taking a long time to answer,” Fedor sneers.

My heart lurches when I realize I might get to hear Viktor again. I’d still be trapped in this tiny cell with his crazy brother as my guard, but hearing his voice would strengthen my resolve to do everything in my power to get out of here.

Fedor opens his mouth to say something else, but before he can, the phone stops ringing. Then, someone answers.

Except, it isn’t Viktor.

“Hello?” The voice is female, and I recognize it, though it takes me a second to place. “Fedor, is that you?”

Fedor frowns and looks down at the phone, probably making sure he called the right number. “Who is this?”

“It’s Hannah.”

Fedor looks at me like maybe I’ll understand what is happening, but I’m just as lost as he is. Last time I saw Hannah, she was running down an alley for her life being pursued by some of Fedor’s men. How or why she would be answering Viktor’s phone is a mystery. One I hope does not involve anything bad happening to Viktor.

“Why are you answering my brother’s phone?”

“Because his hands are tied at the moment.” I can hear the smile in her voice. The victory. The pride. Whatever is going on, Hannah is thrilled.

“Do you mean that figuratively or …”

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